Markov-modulated Models to Estimate the Age of Information in Cooperative Driving

This short paper explores for the first time the possibility to model the Age of Information (AoI) in cooperative driving applications. A heuristic analysis shows that it is possible to model the AoI as a system modulated by a Semi-Markov process, where the states depend on the mobility and the radio environment. The dwell time in typical road networks cannot be assumed exponential, so that the model is not a simple Markov Modulated Poisson Process (MMPP), but rather a generic Markov Modulated Process with general dwell time and arbitrary distribution of the AoI. Future work includes the tuning of the model parameters in different scenarios, the characterization of the AoI distribution, validation tests, and obviously its use in the design of cooperative driving applications.